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Pure Food & Drug Act
The Pure Food & Drug Act of June 30, 1906 is a United States federal law that provided federal inspection of meat products. It forbid the manufacture, sale, or transportation of adulterated food products & poisonous patent medicines. -
Income Tax Law Passed
In 1913, the 16th Amendment to the Constitution made the income tax a permanent fixture in the U.S. tax system. The amendment gave Congress legal authority to tax income & resulted in a revenue law that taxed incomes of both individuals & corporations. -
Panama Canal Opened
An attempt by France to build a sea-level canal failed. This was of use to the U.S. effort, which finally completed the present Panama Canal in 1914. The narrow land bridge between North & South America offered a unique opportunity to create a water passage between the Atlantic & Pacific oceans. -
America Enters World War 1
When war erupted in 1914, the United States attempted to remain neutral. A message containing Zimmerman's request for Mexico to attack the US was decoded by the British & sent to the US. President Wilson asked Congress for permission to go to war, congress officially declared it on April 6, 1917. -
Prohibition Begins
Many people, especially women, blamed many of society's problems on alcohol. Citizens began forming organzitaions against consumption of alcohol. On January 16, 1919, the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified. One year later (January 16, 1920), the Amendment went into affect, making the manufacture, sale, & transportation of liquor illegal & beginning Prohibition in the United States. -
Women Win The Vote
In 1920, when women finally won the vote throughout the nation. They won their right to vote after the Nineteenth Amendment was passed. The Nineteenth Amendment states, "The rights of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex." -
Stock Market Crash of 1929
The Stock Market Crash of 1929, was the most devastating stock market crash in the history of the United States. The crash resulted to the beginning of the 12-year Great Depression that affected all Western industrialized countries. The Great Depression did not end in the United States until the onset of American mobilization for World War II at the end of 1941. -
New Deal Begins
The New Deal was a series of economic programs implemented in the United States between 1933 & 1936. Passed by the U.S. Congress during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were responses to the Great Depression, & focused on what historians call the "3 Rs": Relief, Recovery, and Reform. Relief for the unemployed & poor; Recovery of the economy to normal levels; & Reform of the financial system to prevent a repeat depression.
